“You get paid for what you cure.” Martin H. Fischer
Create opportunity
Understand employers’ needs
Remedy their problem
Employment offers!
Become the Expert. Doctors go to college, medical school, residency. Can you say 36-hour shifts? So, too, must you become the expert. It may be that your expertise is in your work ethic, experience, education, recent classes you’ve taken to improve your skills, or your ability to resolve conflict.
Learn everything there is to know about your industry, the companies you are applying to and their competitors, what they do, who is in the hierarchy, recent industry activity. Look for clues as to what might be the needs of your prospective employers. Consider solutions that you might offer.
Present Your Credentials. Physicians put their diplomas on the wall. And you, as the specialist who can treat your future employer’s problems, must also present your credentials in an effective, relevant, and professional manner. Make sure your cover letter and resume (and later your follow-up letter) are sent to every appropriate potential employer out there. Each must be credible and professional (format, content, grammar, typos). And most importantly, write each one so that it is specifically relevant to the job advertised, the company and its particular situation. Present your skills, ideas, and the experience which will address that employer’s particular predicament.
This step is critical. Your cover letter is an opportunity to demonstrate some of your professional qualities, your knowledge of the company and how you are the remedy to its pain. It plays a role in whether your resume is read or tossed in the waste basket. Your resume backs up your claims through relevant experience and education.
These documents are the credentials and qualifications (resume), reputation (references), and research (cover letter) from which your future patient, the employer, determines whether you are worth meeting. Remember, interviews burn a great deal of an employer’s time. They will consider only the most compelling candidates, based on the quality and relevance of the materials they receive.